A’s designated hitter Brent Rooker will make his Home Run Derby debut when the All-Star break highlight begins on Monday, Major League Baseball announced Thursday.

Rooker, 30, leads the A’s with 19 home runs and slashed .270/.346/.489 while playing in all 94 of the team’s games this season.

His 19 home runs are tied for 17th in MLB, and he is fourth among DHs in both homers and slugging percentage.

The day after the derby, Rooker will take part in his second All-Star game after he was selected as the backup DH for the American League by a player’s ballot. He joined teammate Jacob Wilson, the AL starting shortstop, as the team’s All-Stars, though a wrist injury could take the rookie shortstop out of the game.

Rooker was the A’s lone All-Star selection in 2023 and was perceived by many as a snub in his breakout Silver Slugger winning 2024 campaign where he launched a career-high 39 home runs. Closer Mason Miller was the A’s sole representative in 2024.

When asked about the Home Run Derby after the announcement of his All-Star bid, Rooker expressed excitement and said he would “definitely do” it if asked, according to MLB.com.

Now, he’ll get his chance.

2025 derby rundown

The derby begins with an open first round where the four players with the most home runs advance to the traditional bracket-style final two rounds — a change first implemented in last year’s contest.

A player’s first round ends after either three minutes or 40 pitches and the completion of an out-based bonus round. A shortened two minutes or 27 pitches, as well as a swing-off tiebreaker, decide the final two rounds, with seeding being decided by first-round totals.

Rooker became the seventh announced contestant, following Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Braves, James Wood of the Washington Nationals, Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins, Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Of the announced competitors, Rooker currently has the third-fewest home runs this season, only above Cruz and Acuña, the latter of whom played his first game May 23 while dealing with a knee injury and who has competed in the derby twice before.

With his selection, Rooker became the first A’s player to be tapped for the contest since 2021 when his former teammate Matt Olson — who reached base three times for the Braves in a 9-2 rout of his former club on Wednesday — lost in the first round.

The last Athletics player to win the derby was Yoenis Céspedes, who took back-to-back crowns in 2013 and 2014. The only other A’s player to win the derby was Mark McGwire, who took the title in 1992.

The Home Run Derby will kick off at 5 p.m. Monday, televised on ESPN, while the All-Star game will start at 5 p.m. Tuesday and airs on Fox.